The Outlaw
by Raven and Wolf
Summary: Thornclaw is alone, far away from his Clan and loved ones. Falsely accused of murder and cast out of the Clans, he must now learn to survive in a strange, harsh new world. But he won't be alone long ... Will he have the courage to return when his Clanmates most need him? Rated T for violence. My 1st fanfic, plz R&R!
1. A strange scent

**Chapter 1**

"And just where do you think you're going?"

Thornclaw sighed and turned to see Brambleclaw padding across the camp towards him with a scowl across his tabby face.

"I'm just going hunting, Brambleclaw," replied Thornclaw, barely keeping the annoyance out of his voice.

"Really? Well, next time you decide to '_go hunting'_, perhaps you'd better check with me, first! I hope you haven't forgotten who's deputy here?"

Thornclaw felt a growl rumbling deep in his belly, but he pushed it away. "Do you want me to go hunting or not?" he asked.

Brambleclaw's eyes flashed and he drew himself up to his full height. "I suppose you may as well," he growled, glaring down at Thornclaw. "But you're a senior warrior, Thornclaw. You should know by now that you don't just go off hunting on your own. You ask me first!" Brambleclaw whipped around and stalked off, his tail in the air.

Thornclaw padded out of the camp, seething at Brambleclaw's superior attitude. The ThunderClan deputy was younger than he was, and the rule about not going hunting without asking the deputy wasn't even true! Brambleclaw had just made that up – Thornclaw knew the warrior code inside out, and he had gone hunting on his own many a time.

This wasn't the first time that Brambleclaw had treated cats unfairly – the deputy's bad-tempered behaviour was becoming regular. Much as he disliked it, Thornclaw wondered if it was something to do with how Squirrelflight, Brambleclaw's ex-mate, had lied to him about 'their' kits, which turned out to be Squirrelflight's sister, Leafpool's, who used to be the ThunderClan medicine cat. Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight had split up after that, and though Thornclaw was no expert on relationships, he supposed that Brambleclaw's feelings must have been hurt terribly by that incident when Hollyleaf, a warrior who was now dead, had revealed the truth about Leafpool's kits at a Gathering.

Thornclaw shook his head crossly. He didn't want to revisit that painful memory – it had been around the same time that his best friend, Ashfur, had been murdered. They had never even found out who the killer was – though Thornclaw was sure it was a WindClan cat, as Ashfur's body had been found on the WindClan border. But Firestar had been too cowardly, clinging to his old friendship with WindClan, to send a fighting patrol to get revenge.

Thornclaw sighed as he padded through the beautiful autumn trees, lit with late afternoon sunlight that warmed his golden-brown tabby fur. The reason he had even come out to hunt in the first place was because he was feeling very on the edge of the Clan at the moment, and he had wanted to get away from all the hustle and bustle of the camp to be on his own. His sister, Brightheart, who he used to be very close to, never had much time for him any more because she had a mate, Cloudtail, a daughter, Whitewing, and grand-kits, Dovewing and Ivypool. Dovewing and Ivypool were now starting up romantic relationships of their own: Tigerheart, a former ShadowClan cat, had even left his Clan and joined ThunderClan so that he could be with Dovewing. Surely it wouldn't be long until Brightheart became a great-grandmother.

Thornclaw's brother, Brackenfur, also had a mate, two daughters and two grand-kits, Cherrypaw and Molepaw. And Thornclaw's other sister, Cinderpelt had died many seasons ago.

Thornclaw didn't even have a mate yet, even though he was a senior warrior.

As a young warrior he had once been in love with Sorreltail, but Sorreltail had paid him no attention. She had fallen in love with Thornclaw's brother, Brackenfur instead, and become his mate. He had also liked Ferncloud, but she had gone with Dustpelt, and they now had two adult grand-children, Rosepetal and Toadstep.

Thornclaw was happy for his siblings, happy that they were happy. Most of the time. He had tried his hardest to be a good warrior, and after a while he had got used to being single. He had even tried to persuade himself that he didn't _want_ a mate cooing over him and mewling kits following him around. And he hadn't been completely alone – he had had a great friend in Ashfur. Ashfur had never had a mate either, though he had come close to becoming mates with Squirrelflight, until the ginger she-cat went off with Brambleclaw.

And look where _that_ relationship had led.

So Thornclaw had made himself think that he was better off without a mate, in case they turned on him like Squirrelflight had turned on both Ashfur _and_ Brambleclaw – he knew first-hand from Ashfur how much it hurt when that happened. He was better off just sticking with good friends like Ashfur.

But then Ashfur had died.

Thornclaw had since made friends with Spiderleg, but it just wasn't quite the same. He missed Ashfur, he missed Cinderpelt, he missed his mentor, Mousefur, who had died a moon ago. He missed his closeness with Brightheart. And, though he had tried to fight it for so long, he knew that, deep down, he did long for the comfort of a mate and kits.

Thornclaw shook his head angrily, trying to drive his own self-pitying thoughts from his head. He had better get down to some serious hunting, or Brambleclaw would rip his ears off when he got back.

He stopped, feeling a soft, cool breeze blowing in from the lake ruffle his fur and tug gently on his whiskers. He took in a deep breath, searching for any prey-scent the breeze might carry. Instead a rank, menacing, all-too-familiar scent filled his nostrils, and he gagged.

_ShadowClan? _

Thornclaw's heart began to race. Could the scent be blowing over from ShadowClan territory? No, it was far too strong for that. And besides, the breeze was blowing from the lake, not ShadowClan territory.

Thornclaw pricked his ears. At first he only heard the familiar sounds of bird song and swaying trees. But then he picked out the faint, but definite, sounds of many cats prowling through terrain that they weren't used to, where they didn't want to be seen. And the scent was getting steadily stronger, so strong that it was almost overwhelming.

A ShadowClan invasion!


	2. ThunderClan, attack!

**Chapter 2**

Thornclaw froze for a second as the ShadowClan scent engulfed him. Then he spun on the spot, all thoughts of hunting gone from his head. Not caring whether the ShadowClan patrol heard him or not, he ran. As he pelted through the trees, his paws following well-worn paths that he knew like the shape of his own tabby stripes, he hoped that he would make it to the camp in time. Sure, he knew the way and the terrain better than the ShadowClan cats, but they were very close behind him. And under the sound of his own panting and the roar of blood in his ears, he thought he could detect pounding pawsteps and crashing undergrowth behind him. They had seen him! They knew he was running to warn ThunderClan, and they were trying to beat him to it! Thornclaw dug in his claws and ran harder, fighting his way through brambles and springing right over a massive fallen log.

Finally, he saw the lightness in the trees ahead that meant he was approaching the stone hollow camp. But in his blind running, he had taken a wrong turning – he was on the complete opposite side of the camp to the thorn tunnel that guarded the entrance. There was no time to go around. Bracing himself, Thornclaw raced right up to the edge of the stone hollow – luckily the huge drop wasn't as sheer here as in other sections of the cliff – and skidded down the almost vertical slope.

He dug his claws in, trying to slow down, but he ended up shooting down it like a stone, sending grit and pebbles clattering down around him. One of his claws tore, but he kept going, helter-skelter down to the bottom. He finally skidded to a halt and staggered forwards into the camp, gasping for enough breath to speak. Everyone was staring at him, stunned. Finally he managed to yowl out, "ShadowClan invasion! Hurry, they're coming any second now!"

For a moment everyone was frozen in shock. Then Brambleclaw raced into the centre of the camp and yowled, "Foxleap, Berrynose, Birchfall, Molepaw, Rosepetal, Tigerheart and Brightheart, remain here to defend the elders and the camp!"

The five elders, Dustpelt, Sandstorm, Greystripe, Daisy and Millie, (Purdy had died not long after Mousefur) all peered out of their honeysuckle den. "We don't need defending!" called Sandstorm defiantly. "We can still fight perfectly well!"

"All the same, the camp needs protecting," replied Brambleclaw. "You five can fight off any cats that get past the cats I have chosen to stay here, and protect the nursery – even though there are no kits at the moment, we don't want it to get destroyed." Brambleclaw turned back to the rest of the Clan. "Spiderleg, Squirrelflight and Mousewhisker, guard the entrance. The rest of you, come with me!"

"What about Firestar?" called Thornclaw. He didn't like the way Brambleclaw was taking charge, even though everyone knew that Firestar was far too weak to lead a battle patrol.

"He can stay here to help protect the camp," replied Brambleclaw swiftly. "Now, let's go before ShadowClan get here!" And with that, the dark brown tabby tom raced out through the thorn tunnel, the fighting patrol streaming behind him.

Thornclaw ran with them, still panting from his desperate race through the forest. His torn claw was beginning to sting, but he ignored it. He was still worried about how Brambleclaw seemed to be taking on leadership duties. Firestar was so old and weak these days, particularly after that fight with a vicious dog two moons ago. Thornclaw had no idea how may lives the ThunderClan leader had left, but he was sure it couldn't be many. And now Brambleclaw was –

Thornclaw's thought-stream was cut off as Brambleclaw halted abruptly, so that the cats running behind him almost crashed into him. Thornclaw stretched up to see over Hazeltail's head and saw the ShadowClan leader, Rowanstar, facing Brambleclaw across a clearing. A line of battle-hardy ShadowClan warriors stood behind him, all looking annoyed at losing their element of surprise. _That was my doing_, thought Thornclaw with a twinge of satisfaction.

"Rowanstar," said Brambleclaw, his voice loud and full of authority. "What are you doing on ThunderClan territory? And in such large numbers, too."

Rowanstar drew himself up, bristling. "Don't act as if you're stupid as well as traitorous," the ShadowClan leader hissed. "We're here to teach ThunderClan a lesson once and for all. It's high time that you fox-hearted excuses for warriors learned your place."

Thornclaw felt his pelt bristling and his claws sliding out. It was _ShadowClan_ that was fox-hearted, sneaking into ThunderClan territory to invade their camp like this!

"You gave us a piece of territory, and then demanded to have it back," Rowanstar went on, his voice rising. "You forced us to fight for it, and then killed our deputy!" Rowanstar glared at Lionblaze, who had been the cat to kill Russetfur in that dreadful battle several moons ago. "And as if that wasn't enough, you've hoodwinked one of our best warriors into joining you!" Rowanstar's piercing green gaze raked the ranks of ThunderClan warriors, but he couldn't spot Tigerheart. Thornclaw felt relieved that Brambleclaw had had the sense to leave the former ShadowClan warrior at the camp.

"We never did anything to make Tigerheart join us!" called out Brackenfur angrily. "He came of his own accord!"

Rowanstar arched his back. "Don't lie to me!" he snarled. "ThunderClan has been getting too cocky. You think you can do what you like, but ShadowClan is going to give you a rude awakening!"

"They already have," muttered Cloudtail behind Thornclaw. "I was having a nice nap until those pieces of fox dung came charging into our territory." Thornclaw stifled a purr of amusement.

"Rowanstar, you haven't been leader long," said Brambleclaw calmly, with a flash of his old, well-controlled nature. "I would advise you to not make the mistake of attacking us so early in your reign."

"Cowards!" yowled Applefur, a ShadowClan she-cat. "Don't try to back out of it!"

"How dare you speak to our leader like that?" hissed Owlclaw. "You're only a deputy!"

"We know how weak Firestar is at the moment," added Scorchfur triumphantly. "We know how you're scared of us, deep down."

"_You're_ the cowards!" roared Brambleclaw, finally losing his temper. "Attacking us just because you think we're weak! Well, ThunderClan will prove you so wrong you'll wish you'd never been born!"

Thornclaw's heart began to pound. The moment when the clearing would explode into battle was seconds away.

Rowanstar unsheathed his claws, but before he could charge, Brambleclaw's battle yowl rang across the clearing.

"ThunderClan, attack!"


	3. Eye witness

**Chapter 3**

"Attack!" Rowanstar's battle yowl rang out, loud and clear, and the forest exploded. Cats leapt out of nowhere, and suddenly, battle was upon them: cats were wrestling and fighting everywhere. Thornclaw saw Hazeltail wriggling beneath a powerfully muscled tabby warrior; he sprang forward, knocking the tabby off Hazeltail and pinning him to the ground.

The tabby writhed furiously, sinking his teeth into Thornclaw's forepaw. He yowled and leapt backwards, trying to wrench his paw away, but the tabby only bit deeper. Excruciating pain shot like needles up his foreleg, and, suddenly fired up with anger, he lunged forwards to sink his fangs into the tabby's ear.

The ShadowClan warrior grunted and immediately let go of Thornclaw's paw. Thornclaw slashed his claws across the tabby's shoulder, and the cat shrieked. Tearing its ear out of Thornclaw's grip, it scrambled up and blundered away.

Panting and ignoring the pain in his forepaw, Thornclaw glanced around for another enemy. His eyes rested on a black-and-white tom prowling through the battle. _Crowfrost_. But before Thornclaw could attack, a great weight crashed into him from behind and he sprawled forwards. Razor-sharp claws sank deep into his shoulders and tore the skin of his back right down to his haunches, ripping off a chunk of fur as he did so. Fire shot up the wound and Thornclaw screeched, trying desperately to free himself, but the cat had its teeth in his scruff and was shaking him like a piece of prey –

The world spun around him and his eyes rolled up. He couldn't think, couldn't breathe …

And then suddenly, the teeth sunk into his scruff let go and the weight vanished from his back. He turned to see Hazeltail struggling with an enormous black tom, her eyes burning with determination. She sank her teeth into his tail and he grunted furiously, whipping around to swing a hefty clawed paw at her face. Hazeltail went down with a yelp, her cheek bleeding, and the black tom was instantly upon her.

Letting out a vicious battle cry, Thornclaw sprang on to the tom's back and sank his teeth into the back of his neck. The tom yowled and reared backwards away from Hazeltail, who crawled away, bleeding from face, shoulder and hind leg. Before the tom could crush him, Thornclaw sprang off him, landing a last blow on the warrior's muzzle before racing away after Hazeltail._ I'll deal with you later_, he thought as he glanced back at the black tom, who was looking around for Thornclaw in bewilderment. _You'll pay for what you've done to her_.

Hazeltail was lying at the edge of the battle, exhausted. She looked in a terrible state. She raised her head a little as Thornclaw approached, and purred faintly.

"Thornclaw," she murmured. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," replied Thornclaw, a little gruffly. "It's you we need to worry about," he added, trying to sound like he knew what he was doing.

Slightly hesitantly, he padded up to her and began to lick the blood away from her fur, feeling extremely awkward. Hazeltail was purring huskily, but Thornclaw never felt comfortable licking any cat that he wasn't related to, like Brightheart, or close friends with, like Ashfur. But it had to be done – he couldn't leave Hazeltail to bleed to death.

Once the bleeding had slowed up a little, Thornclaw sat back. "Listen, you can't go back into the battle with wounds like that," he said. "I'll send for Leafpool."

"But what about you?" protested Hazeltail. "You're bleeding, too!"

"Am I?" Thornclaw shrugged, even though the action made fiery needles shoot down his back. "I'm fine," he said again. "Don't worry, Leafpool will be here soon." Hazeltail looked like she wanted to say more, but before she could open her mouth he was off, skirting the edge of the clearing to where Leafpool was busy treating Blossomfall's torn ear with Jayfeather.

Leafpool looked up. "Thornclaw!" she cried. "Who in StarClan did that to your back?"

"Never mind that," said Thornclaw a little shortly. "It's Hazeltail, she's hurt badly." He wondered why Blossomfall's eyes were gleaming with curiosity and amusement. _Why does everyone find it so funny whenever I mention Hazeltail?_ thought Thornclaw grumpily.

"Where is she?" asked Leafpool in concern. Thornclaw pointed with his ears in the direction where Hazeltail lay. "Jayfeather, can you take over here?" asked Leafpool. The blind grey medicine cat nodded, and Leafpool hurried off towards Hazeltail. Just before she vanished into the trees, she stopped and looked back. "Thornclaw, I want to see you back here once I've finished with Hazeltail. That wound on your back is serious." Then she turned and vanished.

Thornclaw snorted. He was fine! Leafpool was just fussing about nothing. Before Jayfeather could stop him, he plunged back into the battle.

Cats whirled around him, pouncing, screeching, yowling, hissing, slashing, wrestling, tumbling around the clearing, each locked in their own individual fight. Thornclaw glanced around for a free opponent, but then suddenly something huge and hard barrelled into him from behind. He whipped around and found himself face to face with the huge black tom who had nearly killed him and Hazeltail.

As he glared into the ShadowClan warrior's face, a name suddenly sprang to his mind: _Smoketail. _But names were not important, not now, in the thick of battle. Fighting a nameless enemy made it easier to forget that it was a real, living cat you were fighting and hurting, who had their own life and feelings.

Thornclaw arched his back, bristling and fluffing out his tail as he hissed menacingly. He suddenly realised just how huge Smoketail was: Thornclaw was one of the largest toms in ThunderClan, but he was less than three-quarters of the size of this brute.

Smoketail suddenly sprang at him, bowling him over. But as he flipped on to his back, Thornclaw pushed strongly off the ground with all the muscled power in his hind legs, sending the two of them tumbling end over end, head over heels, locked together until finally, in another clearing just out of sight of the main battle, Thornclaw stopped their tumble by slamming Smoketail to the ground on his back. He sank his claws into Smoketail's shoulders, and the big cat yowled in agony.

Suddenly, Thornclaw heard a long, drawn-out screech of agony that was abruptly cut off, and the voice was terribly familiar. It sounded like Spiderleg!

His heart thumping, Thornclaw sprang off Smoketail, who scrambled to his paws and staggered away from his attacker. Thornclaw was aware of the ShadowClan warrior staring after him in bewilderment as he pelted into the trees towards where Spiderleg's shriek had come from. The only sounds now came from behind him, where the battle still raged; Spiderleg was eerily silent now.

_Please don't let him be dead, please StarClan, no, not after Ashfur_ … thought Thornclaw desperately as he ran. Suddenly the reek of fresh blood hit him like a blow to the stomach and he skidded to a halt, reeling. His stomach was churning with an odd, ominous sense of foreboding. Something was very wrong. Thornclaw crept forwards until he came to a gap between two young oak trees, and stifled a shriek of horror at what he saw ahead of him.

Spiderleg was lying splayed out on the ground, and a massive dark tabby was crouched over the black warrior's body. Thornclaw's breath came in sharp gasps as he saw that the tabby's claws were sunk deep in Spiderleg's neck. Crimson blood was welling out of the wounds, thick and fast, and staining Spiderleg's black fur as red as holly berries. Thornclaw watched in horror as he saw his best friend twitch once, struggle to draw in one last desperate breath, before his limbs suddenly flopped down like dead prey, his body limp. The ThunderClan warrior's body went as still as stone, and his flanks stopped heaving.

"No," whispered Thornclaw. _This has to be a dream._

The dark tabby was now doing something to Spiderleg's paws. Thornclaw watched as the tabby picked carefully at Spiderleg's toes with unsheathed claws, and Thornclaw suddenly realised that the murderer was getting rid of his own fur that was caught between Spiderleg's claws, to remove the evidence of who had killed the black warrior. As he did so, the tabby started to mutter something, and through a haze of shock and grief, Thornclaw strained to hear what the tom was saying.

"I'm sorry, Spiderleg," the tabby warrior was muttering. "It's the only way to defeat ShadowClan … if everyone thinks a ShadowClan cat killed one of our warriors, then we'll be even with them, and Rowanstar won't dare attack us again."

Thornclaw's mind was whirling with confusion as he flattened himself to the ground. It didn't make sense. It just didn't make any sense at all. Who _was_ this cat?

As Thornclaw watched, he saw the tabby pick up a chunk of blood-tipped fur that lay on the ground beside him and began to tear it into small pieces. He then began to tuck them carefully between Spiderleg's claws. The fur wasn't black like Spiderleg's, nor dark-coloured like the murderer. It was a much paler ginger colour, almost golden.

Thornclaw's head reeled. Whoever that fur belonged to, it was going to look as though _they_ were Spiderleg's killer, and not this cat. Thornclaw knew he should run and fetch the others, or at least attack this murderous cat, but something held him back. He wanted to know who this cat was before he did anything.

Suddenly the tabby swung its head around to face the bushes were Thornclaw crouched, half-hidden. The cat's muzzle was stained with blood almost up to its eyes, which glittered with fury and a touch of fear as it peered into the undergrowth. Recognition suddenly washed over Thornclaw, along with a sickening swoop of horror in his belly. He bit down hard on his tongue, trying to stifle the yowl of disbelief that was pushing to escape him. He knew that face, had known it for as long as he could remember._ This could not be._

Brambleclaw.

Brambleclaw had killed Spiderleg.

**What has made Brambleclaw turn into a murderous traitor like his father, Tigerstar? What is Thornclaw going to do? Tell the Clan, or stay silent? Who will believe him? And if he spills the beans on Brambleclaw, what will the deputy do to him to keep him silent?**

**Stay tuned to find out in the next chapter! Please review, I would love to know what you think of this story so far.**


	4. Framed

**Chapter 4**

For a moment, Thornclaw and Brambleclaw stared at each other in horror. A complex mix of fury, fear, defiance and uncertainty was spreading over Brambleclaw's face. After a second or two, the deputy seemed to come to a decision. He took a step towards Thornclaw, his teeth bared.

Thornclaw didn't hesitate a second longer. He ran. He didn't know whether Brambleclaw had recognised him or not, but he had certainly been spotted. So Brambleclaw knew that at least one cat had witnessed Spiderleg's murder, which would make him frightened. And fear would make him dangerous.

Thornclaw didn't know what to do. Should he tell the Clan? What would Brambleclaw do to him then? Though he had only been a kit at the time, Thornclaw knew that Brambleclaw's father, Tigerstar, had killed his Clan deputy, Redtail, so that he could be deputy instead. An apprentice, Ravenpaw, had witnessed this, and had been forced to leave the Clan in order to stay safe from Tigerstar. Thornclaw didn't think that Brambleclaw would go to such lengths as killing him to keep the secret safe. _But then_, thought Thornclaw, _if he's prepared to kill Spiderleg so brutally, maybe he would._

Suddenly grief swept over Thornclaw in a painful wave. Spiderleg had been the closest friend he had had since Ashfur's death, and now he was gone. Thornclaw had been looking forward to sitting down with Spiderleg after the battle and boasting to each other about how many ShadowClan warriors they had managed to chase off. Now Spiderleg was gone, gone where Thornclaw could never speak to him again until he died himself.

In the distance, he heard a voice yowling out in horror and grief, "Spiderleg is dead! They killed Spiderleg!" After a moment Thornclaw recognised the voice to be Brambleclaw's. "Traitor," he muttered under his breath. "Foul, lying, murdering traitor." From up ahead and all around, Thornclaw heard ThunderClan voices rising up in a furious volley of voices.

"NO! Spiderleg, nooo!"

"Double-crossing ShadowClan scum!"

"You invade our territory to get revenge and then kill our warriors?"

"How _dare_ you? _How dare you_?"

The screeches, thuds and yowls of battle suddenly intensified, and several beaten ShadowClan warriors pounded past Thornclaw, their eyes wide with pain and terror and their blood spattering the ferns. The ThunderClan warriors' grief and rage against their Clanmate's murder was driving them to fight even harder.

Suddenly, a heavy weight dropped on to Thornclaw's back so that his legs buckled under him and he crashed to the ground. Claws fastened in his fur and teeth met in the back of his neck, shooting strands of fiery pain into his flesh. Before he had a chance to roll over and fight back at his attacker, huge paws gripped him and thrust him away. Thornclaw's head struck something horribly hard and stars burst in front of his eyes. All his sense of direction was gone and his mind went blank for a split second, before everything went black.

"Why, though? Why would a ShadowClan cat kill him? They must have known that that made them just as bad as us."

"Lionblaze never meant to kill Russetfur. This was deliberate, cold-blooded murder."

"I know, but that's not the point. They came to get revenge, not to murder our warriors."

"I don't really want to talk about any more, OK?"

"Fine."

The voices echoed dimly through Thornclaw's mind. He winced and squeezed his eyes tightly shut, trying to ignore the pain throbbing in his head. When it had subsided a little, he opened his eyes a little. Two blurred shapes sat a little way away from him, one light brown, the other grey. He shut his eyes again, as it was so much effort to keep them open, and tried to work out what was going on.

He was lying in a nest of some sort; it felt as though it was made of soft moss. He could feel a line of sticky cobwebs down his back and another patch on his neck. He was very warm and very comfortable, and he didn't want to move.

Just then he felt soft breath on his face. He opened his eyes a tiny crack to see Leafpool's blurred face peering down at him.

"Hey, you're awake," she said softly. "Don't try to move. You were knocked out; it'll take a while for you to come back to yourself."

Wincing, Thornclaw opened his mouth. "What happened?" he muttered.

"Well, we won the battle – pretty soon after he found out that Spiderleg was dead, Rowanstar called the order to retreat. I just wish we knew who killed him – I bet Rowanstar is furious with whoever it was. It's going to earn ShadowClan a very bad reputation."

Thornclaw blinked. There was something about Spiderleg … something important …

The memory hovered at the edge of his brain, taunting him. Every time he tried to reach it, it danced tantalisingly out of reach again. Before he could remember, Jayfeather started talking.

"It was a vicious, cowardly murder," he growled. "It goes completely against everything the warrior code stands for. I hope whoever did it gets punished good and proper."

"Did Hazeltail get back okay?" Thornclaw muttered, giving up on the unreachable memory.

"Yes, she's fine," replied Leafpool. "She had some of the worst injuries in the Clan – it's a good thing you told me about her. If I had got to her any later she might have been in a far worse state than she is now. She's sleeping at the moment, but I'm sure she'd like to see you when she wakes up."

Thornclaw attempted a small smile, and found that it didn't hurt too much.

Leafpool blinked sympathetically. "Brambleclaw's holding a Clan meeting soon," she mewed. "He says we need to find out who killed Spiderleg and decide what to do about it. If you feel ready to get -"

But Thornclaw cut her off mid-sentence by jumping to his paws, hardly noticing his back scream with protest. "I've just remembered," he hissed. Leafpool saying Brambleclaw's name had sparked the memory in him, and everything – the murder of Spiderleg, Brambleclaw's expression as he saw Thornclaw … it had all come rushing back. "Brambleclaw – he did it – I've got to tell them -"

"Hush now," said Leafpool, looking slightly alarmed. "You hit your head quite hard, you need to rest -"

"He did it!" screeched Thornclaw, springing out of his nest. He ignored Leafpool and Jayfeather's shocked faces as he yowled, "I'll kill him!"

As Thornclaw pelted out of the medicine cats' den and into the clearing, he saw what seemed to be nearly the whole Clan crouched in a huddle in the centre of the camp; some of the cats at the edges were rearing on to their hind legs and craning their necks to see over the others' heads. Millie and Greystripe peered out of the elder's den, their faces horrified. A tense, angry, disbelieving atmosphere hung over the cats like a storm cloud.

As Thornclaw halted just outside the medicine den entrance, several of the cats that were clustered together whipped around to face him, their faces hostile and suspicious.

Berrynose stalked away from the group towards Thornclaw, his cream pelt bristling threateningly. "Why did you do it?" he hissed.

Thornclaw blinked, bewildered. "Do what?" he growled back.

"Don't act as if you don't know!" wailed Ferncloud's voice. "You killed him! You killed my son!"

For a moment Thornclaw felt blank. Then it dawned on him. "_Spiderleg_?" he asked in disbelief. "Me, kill Spiderleg? Have you all got bees in your brains? Spiderleg was my _friend_! Why would I kill him?"

"I don't know!" yowled Daisy furiously. "Why would you? That's what I'd like to know! Why did you do it?"

"But I didn't!" hissed Thornclaw. "This is ridiculous, what in StarClan makes you think that I did?"

"Come and see for yourself," growled Cloudtail.

Head and tail held high, Thornclaw padded towards the group of cats which parted to let him through, revealing Spiderleg's bloody body stretched out on the ground. Thornclaw felt a pang as he sniffed the body, breathing in his friend's familiar scent. Spiderleg's limbs were stiff and cold, his side completely still and his eyes glazed and staring at nothing.

"Look at his paws," said Dustpelt in a low, dangerous voice.

Thornclaw looked closely at Spiderleg's still paws. The claws were still unsheathed and red with some cat's blood, as well as tufts of fur from whoever he had been clawing. Spiderleg had died like a warrior.

_Hang on … _thought Thornclaw. _Something isn't right here. _Then he suddenly remembered what he had seen from the bushes. Those tufts of fur weren't from the cat that Spiderleg had been fighting. They had been put there by Brambleclaw, to frame whoever the fur belonged to!

Sudden understanding dawned in Thornclaw. _No, no, no, no …_

He didn't want to, but at the same time couldn't stop himself as he lowered his head to examine the tufts of fur caught between Spiderleg's claws. His breath caught in his throat. The fur was a terribly familiar golden-brown colour, with a scent he knew so well and was so used to that it was hard to detect.

But how?

Thornclaw looked up and met the hostile gazes of his Clanmates.

"That's right," growled Dustpelt. "It's your fur, isn't it?"

Ferncloud's eyes blazed. "And that means that you killed Spiderleg."

**So, what is Thornclaw going to do now? How can he prove to his Clanmates that he wasn't the killer? His word against the Clan deputy's****, and with evidence against him, Thornclaw is in a pretty tight situation. Which cat are the ThunderClan cats going to believe? Thornclaw or Brambleclaw?**


	5. Traitor!

**Wilder123, thanks for the review! I'm really glad you like it so far, I will try to keep updating it regularly.**

**Chapter 5**

Thornclaw fought down the red mist of rage that was rising over his eyes and took a deep breath. He had to appear calm and controlled, or nobody would believe him.

"Ferncloud, I swear on StarClan, on my sister's life, on all that is precious to you and me, that I did not kill Spiderleg," he meowed clearly.

"You say that when all the evidence is pointing in your face, Thornclaw," said a deep, controlled voice. "Do you really expect us to believe you?"

Thornclaw whipped around to see Brambleclaw padding out of Firestar's den towards them, his amber eyes sparking. Unable to stop himself, Thornclaw felt the fur lifting along his spine and his claws sliding out.

"It was you," he growled quietly. "You did it."

Brambleclaw just looked calmly at him.

"And what makes you think that?" the deputy asked coolly.

"I – I saw you!" snarled Thornclaw. "I saw you with my own eyes. You killed him, and then you pulled your fur out of his claws and put in some of mine. I don't know how you got a hold of it, but -" suddenly Thornclaw remembered how Smoketail had torn a clump of fur out of his back. Brambleclaw must have found it and picked it up … but that wasn't important now. "I saw you, and you saw me," Thornclaw went on. "Don't try to deny it."

Brambleclaw turned to where Leafpool and Jayfeather were watching, wide-eyed, from just outside the medicine cats' den. "Leafpool," Brambleclaw said. "Thornclaw was seen running from the scene of Spiderleg's death soon after it happened, is that right?" he asked calmly.

"Y-yes," replied Leafpool, looking terrified.

"And he was attacked by Smoketail and knocked out soon afterwards?"

This time, Leafpool just nodded.

"Then it's obvious what happened," said Brambleclaw, turning back to the Clan. "Thornclaw killed Spiderleg, for reasons so far unknown, and when he was knocked out he got it into his head that he saw _me_ kill Spiderleg."

"That's not true, and you know it!" yowled Thornclaw furiously.

"He's a raving lunatic!" somebody at the back muttered, and Brambleclaw shook his head pityingly at Thornclaw.

"He's clearly not right in the head," the deputy said. "But he killed Spiderleg before he was knocked out, so he obviously knew what he was doing at the time." Brambleclaw rounded on Thornclaw, his eyes slits. "Why did you do it?" he hissed. "You have flouted the warrior code, betrayed your friend's trust and all of ThunderClan, and lost your right to a place as a warrior."

"I did not do it!" yowled Thornclaw. "I know what I saw, and I know I'm thinking straight! It's a lie, Brambleclaw, every word of what you're saying is a lie! I don't know why you did it or why you're framing me; all I know is that I am speaking the truth!" He turned to look imploringly around at the Clan. "Doesn't any cat believe me?" he asked desperately. "He is Tigerstar's son, after all."

There was silence. "Brambleclaw has proved that he is nothing like Tigerstar and a loyal member of ThunderClan more times than there are stars in the sky," cried Dustpelt. "Clearly far more loyal than you'll ever be."

Dustpelt's words went into Thornclaw like a razor-sharp claw. Throughout all his loneliness, all the hurt and grief of his life, he had tried so hard to be loyal to ThunderClan. It was the one thing that he was proud of, that his life had centered around: his hard work to serve the Clan and pride in being a ThunderClan warrior. And nobody had even noticed. Now they all thought he was a –

"Traitor," growled Berrynose.

"Traitor!" snarled Dustpelt.

"Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!" One by one, all the cats took up the chant and began to crowd in around Thornclaw, their eyes glowing with fury and hostility. Thornclaw stared wildly around, searching for a single face that wasn't angry and full of hate. Then he caught sight of Brightheart, Brackenfur, Whitewing and Poppyfrost standing back, watching with pain and sorrow in their eyes. Several others were hovering around the edges of the aggressive cluster looking uncertain, including Sorreltail, Mousewhisker, Rosepetal and Dovewing.

_At least some of them don't hate me_, thought Thornclaw angrily, _but they're not exactly doing anything to help, are they?_

The mob of angry cats began to close in on Thornclaw, still chanting, "traitor!" Pelts bristled, claws and fangs glinted, and eyes blazed. Just as Thornclaw was about to be overwhelmed by the furious cats, a voice that was weak and hoarse, yet still filled with authority, called out, "stop!"

Every single cat turned to see Firestar limping tiredly out of his den at the Highledge and stumbling down the Rockfall. The ThunderClan leader's pelt was thin, matted and dull and his body was skinny and bony, yet his eyes blazed with a fire that showed a flash of his old strength of mind. "What is going on?" Firestar asked, hobbling to Brambleclaw's side.

"Thornclaw had murdered Spiderleg," growled Berrynose, crouching with the fur along his spine bristling and his claws unsheathed as though he was about to spring into battle. "The evidence is right in front of his nose, and yet he denies it. He's saying that Brambleclaw did it, when we all know that Thornclaw isn't right in the head." Berrynose lowered his voice to a loud, harsh whisper that could still easily be heard, as though Thornclaw was some kind of stupid creature that couldn't hear or understand them.

"What is this evidence?" asked Firestar, looking bewildered. Lionblaze gestured with his tail towards Spiderleg's paws. "Look at the fur between his claws," the golden tom said. "It's obviously Thornclaw's."

Firestar looked at the fur for a long time. Then he blinked rapidly. "I – I don't understand," he murmured. "I cannot believe that Thornclaw would kill any cat, let alone his friend …"

"But Firestar, the evidence is all here in front of you!" cried Berrynose.

"What more proof could you want?" demanded Dustpelt. "Thornclaw is a traitor to ThunderClan. We should drive him out like we drove out Tigerstar!"

A chorus of agreement rose up from most of the listening cats, but Firestar continued to stare at the ground. Finally, he spoke. "Thornclaw has always been a good warrior," he said quietly. "We need strong warriors more than anything. But …" Firestar seemed to be struggling with something. "I will make my decision tonight," he said eventually. "I will tell you what I have decided at dawn tomorrow."

Firestar turned and walked slowly back towards his den, looked older than ever. His head was down and his tail tip trailed in the dust.

As soon as Firestar had vanished into his den, Brambleclaw whipped around to face Thornclaw once more. "You may have won some extra time, but don't expect to be sleeping with us in the warrior's den tonight," he hissed. "You have proved that you don't deserve to be a warrior. You must sleep out in the forest." Brambleclaw glared at Thornclaw with amber eyes as hard and cold as ice. "I will send a warrior to fetch you in the morning. Leave now, and walk with shame, traitor."

The cats of ThunderClan parted into two rows that faced each other, and Brambleclaw nudged Thornclaw with his tail. Thornclaw shot Brambleclaw a look filled with all the hatred he could muster before padding down between the two lines of cats, feeling their burning gazes scorch his fur.

Though ThunderClan had taken Brambleclaw's word over Thornclaw's and he was viewed as a murderer and a traitor, Thornclaw walked out of the ThunderClan camp with his ears pricked and his head and tail held high, for he knew with all his heart that he was right and Brambleclaw was the one who was wrong. Brambleclaw was all wrong, so badly wrong that he didn't deserve to be alive, let alone be a warrior of ThunderClan.

And it was that knowledge that stayed in Thornclaw's heart and kept him walking tall as he padded down the path of shame and out into the darkening forest, alone.


	6. Words of comfort

**AN: For anyone who read this when I first put it up, I am SO sorry I haven't updated for so long! I don't really have an excuse other than that a.) I've been busy writing other things and b.) I kind of forgot about it …**

**But here it is, Chapter 6 at last! More chapters will hopefully be coming soon, as it's the summer holidays now and I have more writing time. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 6**

Thornclaw gazed up at the dark, swaying branches above his head and let out a long sigh. These woods were so familiar – since the Clans had first arrived here, he had been out in this forest almost every day of his life, and he knew the shape of each and every tree and bush. And yet he could be leaving all that behind tomorrow – forever.

It was almost dark now, and the first few stars were beginning to appear in the blue sky. However, he could see a few streaks of fading orange towards the west, over the lake. He padded through the gently swaying trees towards the last beams of sunlight until it he emerged on to the open ridge and it flooded his body, setting his golden-brown pelt alight. He gazed out at the glowing pathway of shimmering light that made a track across the lake, extending far across the water to the RiverClan side. He could just about make out the shape of the Gathering Island in the distance.

Thornclaw let out a sigh as a cool evening breeze blew into his face from across the lake, lifting his fur. A chill ran down his back, but he didn't feel like fluffing his pelt out. He just sat there, drinking in the familiar landscape and hoping, praying, that somehow he would come out of the situation in one piece.

He had been sitting there for what felt like only a few minutes when he heard soft pawsteps padding behind him. He didn't bother to turn around, for he had already identified the cat's familiar scent. He still didn't look at her when Brightheart sat down beside him so that their pelts brushed. She gave him a quick lick on the ear and then the pair of them sat there in silence. There was no need for words. They knew each other too well. Thornclaw was fully aware of his sister's comforting presence beside him, and was glad of it. So he just sat beside her, enjoying her quiet company and feeling glad that he wasn't alone.

After a little while, Brightheart decided to break the peaceful, relaxed silence.

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "About … what happened today."

"It isn't your fault," Thornclaw replied quietly.

"And I want you to know that I believe you," the ginger-and-white she-cat went on, as though Thornclaw hadn't spoken. "And so do plenty of the others. We know that you could never have laid a claw on any of your Clanmates, let alone kill one – especially not Spiderleg. And we – we believe you about Brambleclaw, too." A deep shudder ran through her pelt. "I don't like it, but seeing as you were so sure about it, I think we may have to accept the possibility that there is another murderer in our midst." She swallowed hard. Thornclaw licked her softly, knowing that she must be thinking of Tigerstar, who had committed a similar crime to his son, Brambleclaw, and had been, for the most part, responsible for Brightheart's half-ruined face.

"Thank you," Thornclaw meowed in reply. "I'm glad you're here. And thank you for believing me."

"I'm not the only one who believes you," replied Brightheart. "There are plenty of others, and we're all prepared to bid for your innocence tomorrow when Firestar announces his decision. In fact, I've already spoken to him and tried to persuade him, but he sent me away. I think he wants to contemplate it on his own."

Thornclaw blinked, touched and surprised by her loyalty.

"Thank you," he repeated, touching her muzzle with his nose. "You said there were others – who …?" He trailed off. He had seen few faces amongst the cats that had surrounded him in the camp earlier that were not contorted with fury, hatred and mistrust.

"Well, for a start there's me," began Brightheart. "Then there's Brackenfur, Whitewing and Poppyfrost. We're really the cats who are completely sure you're innocent, but Sorreltail, Mousewhisker, Dovewing and Rosepetal are also on your side – they're not sure what to believe, but none of them can believe that you'd kill Spiderleg." Thornclaw was amazed. He'd had no idea that so many of his Clanmates had such conviction in him.

"We're all on your side, and we want to help," Brightheart murmured, leaning into him. "I swear to StarClan that whatever happens tomorrow, we will all do everything in our power to make sure that you stay in ThunderClan, where you belong." As she finished speaking, her good eye blazed with such determination that Thornclaw felt a surge of fierce love for his sister.

"I'll never forget this, Brightheart," he whispered. "Thank you. I thought that maybe you'd …"

"What?"

"That maybe you would think I was a traitor, like most of the rest of the Clan."

"Oh, Thornclaw. I could never believe that. You're my brother, and I would trust you with my life. I know what whatever you do, you do it for a reason. You are _not _a traitor. I know it with all my heart. You are loyal to ThunderClan – you're probably the most loyal cat I know!"

Brightheart's words lifted Thornclaw's heart until he felt there was a giant, golden bubble inside him that was ready to burst. He let out a purr and began to wash her ears, not knowing to say in reply.

After a little while, Thornclaw spoke again. "I'm surprised that there were so many in the Clan who believe me," he said. "The evidence against me was pretty strong – Brambleclaw's covered his tracks good and proper."

"Oh!" Brightheart suddenly stopped, halfway through washing her forepaw. "I almost forgot. Hazeltail is on our side, as well. Once she was dismissed from the medicine cat's den and heard what had happened to you, she was really upset. She said you saved her life."

"Hazeltail?" Thornclaw frowned. Yes, he had saved her life in the battle earlier that day, but he had never shared more than polite words with the young grey-and-white she-cat.

"I don't know why you're so surprised," said Brightheart, giving him a sly sidelong look.

"What are you talking about?" asked Thornclaw, feeling his fur prick up at the teasing tone in his sister's voice.

"Honestly, Thornclaw, have you not noticed?" asked Brightheart, sounding exasperated.

"Noticed what?"

Brightheart rolled her eyes. "Hazeltail has been padding after you for moons! I mean, I know you've never really had a proper relationship with a she-cat before, but I thought even you weren't thick enough to not have noticed!"

Thornclaw blinked. "I … guess I never really paid her much attention to her before," he said uncertainly. "I mean, I don't know her very well …" he trailed off, unsure of what to say.

Luckily Brightheart seemed to understand. "Don't worry," she said firmly. "We'll sort out this mess together, I promise you. And when we do, I'll make sure you start paying Hazeltail some _proper_ attention!"

Thornclaw purred. "You'll have to help me out on that one, Brightheart."

His sister laughed, and they both sat in companionable silence for a while. It wasn't long before night had truly fallen, so they settled down to sleep, both trying to avoid thinking about what the dawn might bring.


End file.
